Hello everyone!

I love this story. I love writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it.

And thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed since I poked my head out again. I'll go reply to you guys right after I upload the next installments.

If you wrote a review that hasn't been responded to after tonight, send me a message and give the chapter number that you reviewed and I'll go read your review, gush over it, and reply. I feel so awful that I haven't been giving you lovely people the love you deserve.

Wow. And for about fifteen seconds I thought there was an 'i' in deserve. I am retarded. Thank Pocky for spell-check. Dx

Please enjoy! I know I am!

Promises Not Made are Promises Never Kept

Chapter Thirteen – Blue, Blue Eyes

"AAAAAAH!"

As soon as Orochimaru was out of sight the sudden surge of power faded from Sasuke's limbs, and he fell forehead first into the ground as the pain that had been forced back reemerged full force, screaming.

"SASUKE!"

His team rushed to him to help, but they couldn't get a grip on him as he screamed and shrieked and flailed, tossing back and forth along the bloodstained grass and getting it everywhere as he kept bleeding, bleeding, bleeding.

But the pain wasn't from the wounds in his chest (even though those were horrible). The terror in his eyes wasn't from the idea that he could bleed out and die (even though that'd be quite the gruesome way to die). As Inaré and Haku kneeled next to him, dodging panicked swats and sharp nails, trying to calm him down and trying to get some sense into him, demons clawed at his eyes while imps pulled at his hair, cackling all the while. The world he saw was dark and shadowy, and the screams he heard in his ears weren't his own, but of his parents.

"NO!" He begged at the top of his lungs, tears leaking out of his shut eyelids as those indigo markings crept along his skin, spreading their sickness. "NO! NOT AGAIN! PLEASE NOT AGAIN!"

What's he talking about? Haku thought frantically, the heart in his throat making it very difficult to swallow as he and Inaré tried to pin him down without hurting him even more.

"Sasuke, please!" He cried to his teammate as Sasuke's nails caught Inaré along the cheek, making her yelp in surprise. "Please, calm down!"

Then he realized that Sasuke was in so much terror that he was forgetting to breathe. His chest moved up and down, convulsed madly, but he gasped shallowly and quickly. He could see Sasuke's lips beginning to turn blue.

He's suffocating. Haku realized in fear. We need Zabuza. I have no idea what this is.

Blood filled Sasuke's vision as he continued to scream senselessly. Light shined off steel as he was held down despite his vicious struggling, red demon eyes peering at him from the shadows of his vision.

No. Not again. I was over this. I was past this. I'm healed. God, please, not again.

"NO! I'M HEALED! I'M BETTER! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS ANYMORE! I'M NOT YOUR BROTHER ANYMORE! I DIDN'T WANT THIS! STOP IT! STOP MAKING ME WATCH THIS!"

Haku's eyes widened.

No. He must be reliving…

Sasuke!

"I did all this for you, Sasuke…"

"NO!"

Suddenly a blaze of fiery red light seared through that shadowy terror, and Sasuke abruptly found himself staring into bright blue eyes as the demons around him were incinerated, a hand clamped tightly around the wrist of his outstretched arm and another palm settled decisively on his chest, atop the puncture wounds.

Sasuke couldn't breathe as he stared into the eyes of Naruto Uzumaki, his eyes wide and bloodshot and full of tears and mouth open as he stared up at the other teenager, the muscle of his lower lip quivering. For that instant, there was no one else in the world.

It was him. He realized. His energy. That blast of fire…

He tried to speak but he couldn't. He barely managed to register the fact that Chakra was fading from his outstretched arm, which was just a couple of inches from Naruto's temple. The smell of burned hair tried its best to singe his nostrils. He could feel Haku and Inaré on either side of him, but couldn't see them.

Did I… did I just…?

Did I just almost kill Naruto?

As the Chakra completely faded away, Naruto released Sasuke's wrist, and Sasuke let the arm fall limp at his side as Naruto took his face in both hands, and the black-haired teen could feel an arm at his back, knew that one of the other two was holding him up as Naruto gazed at him. Sasuke couldn't look away, mesmerized. Those eyes. Those eyes.

But they were different from Orochimaru's. Where fear had been chased away from, warmth nestled contently, and Sasuke could barely feel his cheeks growing warm.

"I'm glad you're okay," Naruto told him softly. "I would hate it if you couldn't keep our appointment for ramen."

Ramen. Always for the food, this idiot.

The thought made a weak, genuinely beaming smile creep along Sasuke's lips as he gazed at the other, but then the pain from the wounds raised a hand above the crowd of the other things wrong with him and waved it tentatively, and the smile fell from his face as his expression twisted in pain, and his head tipped backwards in Naruto's grasp.

Oh. It hurts. Everything hurts.

Naruto seemed to realize that their moment was over, and he hastily released Sasuke's face and backed away as Inaré and Haku flocked around Sasuke, Inaré petting him and cooing into his ear as Haku started to survey his wounds.

Sasuke whimpered, pulling away from Haku's touch and turning his back to the older male, turning onto his side and curling up into a ball as he buried his face in the side of Inaré's thigh, his crying muffled by the muscle. Her lips pursed worriedly as she looked up at Haku.

"We need to get him out of here," she told Haku, who quickly dismissed the panged feelings that emerged in his heart when Sasuke turned away. "Either way, we'll have to wait until next year to become Chunin."

It's okay. That just means he trusts you enough to show his back to you.

"Ah, yes," he mumbled, gathering himself. "We need to get him help. We don't have the supplies-"

"Naruto!"

The two plus Team Seven looked over to see Kakashi leaping from a tree branch, Anko and Iruka also with him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried, running over to him. Sai followed, but Naruto stayed where he stood, halfway in between Sasuke's team and his team. For one second, he wasn't entirely sure which direction to go, and unnatural panic crept into his heart.

"Naruto, what happened?" Kakashi asked, saving him the trouble as he walked over. "We got news of commotion at the second test site and a giant snake-"

"It was Orochimaru," Inaré stated before Naruto could even open his mouth, making Kakashi look over at her. Her lips were pressed into a fine line. "The snake-master. He was after Sasuke. Bit 'im."

Kakashi's single eye went wide. As did the other two pairs.

"He bit him?" He asked in shock. "You're sure?"

Inaré raised an annoyed eyebrow.

"Yes," she replied, restraining from offering a scathingly sarcastic comment. "It was pretty difficult to miss."

"He needs help," Haku told Kakashi, getting to the point. "Sasuke bit him back. And then the Sannin stabbed him. It sent him into some kind of terror-filled dream. We need to get him out of this forest and get him treatment."

As he spoke Kakashi headed over and shooed Inaré out of the way, kneeling down next to Sasuke.

Gods… he thought in horror. Gods, there's blood everywhere.

"It's okay…" he breathed to Sasuke as he reached for the young teen. Sasuke reflexively slapped his hand away and turned over onto his other side closer to Haku, his eyebrows furrowed in pain. But as he did, he allowed Kakashi to see what Orochimaru had placed upon his skin. The Jounin drew a shaky breath.

"No…" he breathed softly. "Not this. The Curse Mark."

"The what?" Inaré asked. Without answering, Kakashi scooped Sasuke up in his arms, despite the younger man's protests. Quickly though, resting against Kakashi's warm chest, Sasuke's painful whining lessened to almost silent whimpering. That big broad chest reminded him of someone…

"Naruto, finish the test," he told his student before looking to Inaré and Haku. "You two. Come with me. He's going to want you there with him." He looked to Iruka. "We need their teacher informed. Fetch him." Iruka nodded solemnly and vanished. Kakashi then looked to Anko. "Anko, I'm going to need you for this too. But first we have to alert the Hokage." Silent, she nodded and disappeared as well. Kakashi turned back to Naruto, who looked about ready to violently protest being left behind. "I'll let you know how he is as soon as I know. Okay?"

Naruto's lips pursed angrily for a moment, but then the line of his eyebrows smoothed over and he turned his face away, nodding silently.

Kakashi's single eye solemn and almost sad, he turned his back on his team and vanished.

End Chapter Thirteen – Blue, Blue Eyes

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Much love!

DDB